Monday 1 August 2016

High Court: NDA ‘manipulated £7bn clean-up contract’

High Court: NDA ‘manipulated £7bn clean-up contract’

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) “manipulated” and “fudged” a tender process for a £7 billion contract to clean up nuclear plants in the country.

That’s according to a ruling by the High Court after it reviewed the agency’s tender process to clean up 12 nuclear sites.

The case was filed by company Energy Solutions after it lost a contract to clean the oldest nuclear plants in the UK after managing those sites for 14 years.

It alleged the NDA did not follow its own procedures when the new contract was awarded and its point scoring system was flawed.

Energy Solutions said it would claim £200 million from the nuclear authority in damages for the "incorrect decision".

The High Court ruling found the authority made “many manifest errors” in reviewing Energy Solutions’ bid.

It added the NDA “manipulated” the valuation process in order to avoid disqualifying the Babcock-Fluor bid and it “fell short” in meeting its obligations of “transparency and equal judgment”.

The NDA said: "We have received the judgement and we are considering our legal options."

Last week, the government announced a delay to its final decision on Hinkley Point until early autumn.

Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

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